As Time Passes, We Get Second Chances
by Angst Splatter
Summary: When things get hard and relationships start to strain and fall apart, Toph tends to run away. She's also trying to do better. Always trying. / / / References to intimacy but nothing graphic. Canon character deaths mentioned in passing. / / / Characters: GAang and kids, Haru, Suki, Lin, Suyin, Korra, unnamed canon characters


**A/N:** Something I've been playing with ever since we got a peek into the Beifong Clan in Legend of Korra. Mostly this was meant to be an exploration of who Lin and Suyin's fathers' might be. It took a wild turn away from this, leaving it as small a side note in this story as it is in LOK. This became more of a fic on Toph's growth from still a teen to an old woman. Instead of working on it slowly over time, of course I sat down and did it in a single two hour block. And now it's really much later than I meant for it to be, of course, so good night, all! xD

Long post ahead! Characters/ATLA/LOK not mine.

~ ATLA ~ LOK ~ ATLA ~ LOK ~

Toph's starting to feel like leftovers. Trash. Used. She's second chances and missed opportunities. Toph is what could have been but never what is.

Neither Sokka nor Suki are benders but they sure are fire together. They're relationship tends to be too off and on for any of them to be able to keep track of. When they're good, they're good, but when they're bad, they're bad.

Suki can bring out the best in Sokka. He rises to new heights. Thinks of more clever plans. He's more focused in training. Can even be a feminist ally.

Sokka can bring out the best in Suki. She reaches new goals. Learns new fighting moves. Works harder on strategy. Is more compassionate towards others.

Suki can bring out the worst in Sokka. He gets angrier and louder. Says cruel things to Suki and his other friends. Lashes out until he sees other's flinching away and realizes he's gone too far.

Sokka can bring out the worse in Suki. She gets more brash and doesn't think anything through. Works her Kyoshi Warriors so hard they collapse. Takes it out on everyone around her until they threaten to leave her and realizes she's gone too far.

Neither one has done the growing up they need to do in order to be together, yet they can't stay apart. During one of their off periods, where Suki has demanded a mission from Firelord Zuko and pulled her Warriors off to some far corner of the colonies, Sokka tells Toph it's like some raw magnetism. Except they don't consistently experience a pull or push. They flip. Sometimes it's all repulsion and Sokka only feels a hot anger when he's around Suki. Sometimes it's all deep attraction where they can't stay apart and each touch is electric, sparking, leaving them feeling empty without the other.

Toph laughs because she doesn't get it, but she pats his arm because Sokka's her friend, and she cares about him. It's on the tip of her tongue to tell him that it will get better because that's something people say. Instead, she goes with honest. "You're both ridiculous. And immature. And toxic together. You should stay apart for longer, Sokka. Every time you get back together, you kill your chances of a future together a little more. And you're killing the relationships around you." Toph doesn't have to point out that Zuko no longer gives Sokka any condolences where Suki is concerned (although it helps that the Kyoshi Warriors are heavily loyal to Zuko and he and Suki have since become great friends) or that Katara purses her lips to avoid yelling at Sokka when he goes to her.

Sokka shouts to the heavens, then sighs and falls back against the ground. Toph feels the thump, deep and weary. She pats his arm again and this time she does tell him that it'll be okay.

Zuko should have seen it coming. It's what he would have done, after all. But he's still heartbroken when Mai leaves him, calling him out on all the secrets he's been keeping from her. At least when he comes to Toph, he accepts accountability for his part in things, even if his voice takes on a whinier tone than Sokka's does.

Toph hits Zuko in the arm. "Your own fault, you know." She feels him wince.

"Yeah..." he says, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck and looking up to the stars.

Toph doesn't tell him it will be okay because that's not something Zuko ever needs to hear. Zuko makes his own destiny. If he wants it to be okay, he'll make it okay. He doesn't want to hear niceties. Some part of him wants Toph's semi-abuse. Needs the blame because it's his. So Toph doesn't give him anymore than she's already given.

"So what are you going to do about it?" she asks.

He flops back onto the ground rather like Sokka had. "Dunno. She didn't leave me a way to contact her. If she left Suki or Ty Lee a way to contact her, they're not telling. I think she's really gone, Toph. I don't think I'm getting her back." He sounds resigned and bummed. He's sounded worse.

Toph digs her feet and hands into the sand of the beach, clenching and relaxing, feeling the sand naturally shift. Zuko's too awkward for his own good. Toph grins, then roughly pinches her fingers together and draws her hands up. She doesn't need her feet to feel out Zuko's reaction. He shouts in surprise as the sand swallows most of his body, then flails to get out before Toph buries him further. She laughs and buries him further.

"Hey!" Zuko yells, indignant and not at all sounding like a firelord. He takes a deep breath in and snorts hot steam at her.

"Be kind or I won't let you up," she warns him.

Zuko harrumphs for a second. She makes him suffer for a long moment before she twists her hands and literally pops him out of the ground. He lets out a surprised breath when he hits the sand again.

He playfully throws a handful of sand at her. Toph lets it hit her shoulder and chest and roll down her. "You wouldn't have to put up with this if you'd just gone a field trip with me," she says, knowing he'll recognize the old reference.

Zuko groans and rolls his eyes. "You don't need one!" he insists. Toph can only shake her head.

"Yeah, but I _wanted_ one."

"I'm sorry," he whispers almost too quietly for Toph to hear. She knows he'd go with her if he could now, but nowadays his firelord duties prevent him from doing so.

"I know," she tells him, nearly as quietly. He scoots up the sand to sit next to her, carefully draping an arm around her shoulders. She rests her head on his shoulders and he rests his on her head. Being shorter than him makes this an easy position for the both of them.

It's not that they meant to lose contact with Haru. It's just that so many things happened to all of them that some relationships went under the water.

Toph didn't even mean to find Haru. She just couldn't stand being holed up anywhere for too long - even her own metalbending academy. Besides, she had trained some earthbenders well enough now that they could stand in for her in teaching others, leaving her free to roam and breathe.

Toph hates flying but she misses the days of all of them wandering around together, going where they want. Living on their own. She always thought when she was older that she'd have more freedom. But she's got responsibilities now and more eyes on her than ever. So she does what she did all those years ago and runs away.

It's lonely without Katara and Sokka and Aang and Zuko.

Toph flits in and out and around towns, trying to be alone yet in the company of others at the same time. She finds herself in one of these towns, which is working hard on rebuilding and getting little support from either leader from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. Toph makes a note to let Zuko know. It's not his fault. The town's just small and less populated and have a harder time calling for help. It's here that she runs into Haru.

Haru's grown a lot in the relatively short time they've been apart. He's shot up another foot or so. His voice is deeper. His muscles more well defined. Toph whistles, long and low when she runs into him, before she even says hi. He turns in surprise. She can tell when he sees her because his body language changes and he happily starts toward her.

"Toph!" he calls. His arms are open like he's expecting a hug, and Toph almost denies him. Instead she relaxes her stance and walks into the embrace.

"Haru," she says, feeling the reverberations of her own voice through his chest. As soon as Haru loosens his grip, Toph lightly bops her fist against his arm, as high as she can reach. "You disappeared," she says. He could have sent a messenger hawk or something. Zuko made sure they all had a personal one if they wanted.

"I know," he says, voice rumbling, and hears the shame in his voice. "I'm glad to see you, though! Are you hungry? My treat."

Toph would have said yes even if she wasn't hungry.

Turns out Haru had done much the same thing she had. He and Teo and The Duke had felt itchy feet and followed their desires until Teo grew tired of the constant traveling and made the decision to go back to his air temple. The Duke had wanted to see it. Haru, as an earthbender, had his feet planted solidly on the ground. He was also a very sweet and compassionate man, loyal to his family. Haru felt he had more to offer to Earth Kingdom rebuilding efforts, so he split from Teo and The Duke, and had been wandering ever since, not knowing what to even say in a letter to anyone.

It feels good talking to Haru. Toph makes sure word of this little town gets to Zuko, then she stays to help rebuild the town. Perhaps she can settle down for a short while - as long as it's not near any stuffy mansion.

"Toph, are you sure?" Sokka's voice is deep and heavy. His panting makes his words come out slow.

Toph laughed from her position pinning him down. "Shut up, _plan guy_. I'm quite sure." Surely Sokka had to know she'd used to harbor a crush on him. She didn't anymore, but that wasn't going to stop her from taking a taste now that he was okay with it.

"Yeah," he murmurs, low and sensual, leaning up to kiss Toph as he struggles to get an arm free to wrap around her neck.

Sokka's lips are warm and salty. His body is thrumming with energy, pulse elevated, heart thump-thumping loud enough to make the earth sing. She's not surprised he wants to have some modicum of control and dominance here, but really, does he not know her at all? If he wants it, he's going to have to fight for it.

Zuko's soft and slow, hesitant and questioning. Toph doesn't really think he'll really make a move until he does. Her fingers itch to wrap around him, push him over onto the ground, let her feel every little part of him as close to the earth as possible. But she doesn't want to scare him away. Toph grips her fist into the ground, crunching up the rock beneath her as Zuko runs a slim finger up her cheek and back to her neck.

Zuko tastes like roasted marshmallows. His body is hot, hotter than any body has a right to be except a firebender's body, but his lips are deliciously cool. He leans in and finally Toph can move. She draws him down before flipping him over and landing on top, sinking her feet into the ground to catch his every twitch and letting her hands roam his body.

He does a really neat trick where he warms up his body wherever her fingers trail, leaving her fingers sensitive and tingly.

Haru lingers outside the door to her little rock tent three nights in a row. On the fourth night, Toph slams the side of her tent down, pulls the earth forward to drag him in, then puts up the wall and widens the distance to give her Haru room.

"Earthbenders are supposed to be decisive," she tells him.

He stills for thirty seconds, then reaches out and touches her, grabs her and draws her close.

Toph doesn't give him a skylight. Let Haru experience a bit of her world - let him experience touch alone without sight to rely on. He tastes of fish and rice and sweat and dirt. He handles the dark well; his fumbles are barely noticeable. She loves the way his muscles ripple. She feels his bending pulsating beneath his skin, beating with his heart, pushing out towards hers, grounding her and making her feel like she's flying all at once.

Toph widens their room some more. Gives them room to really rumble.

Haru doesn't create a skylight for himself either.

Toph never sticks around. She's not a relationship kind of gal. She didn't even know she wanted kids until she gets pregnant the first time.

The pregnancy isn't really a shock, but she doesn't really know how to tell the others. Especially not after Katara has recently announced her own pregnancy with her and Aang's first child. So Toph does what she always does and runs.

Katara and Aang are really the only couples that have made it long-term. She wonders if they're doing something differently from the rest of them or if perhaps they were just meant to be.

There are many towns that still need help that Haru is not in. It's where Toph finds herself heading after her night with Haru.

Toph leaves whenever she gets bored or feels too lonely or sleeps with someone else.

She doesn't send any hawks. She knows she should.

Toph shows up at Katara's close to her due date. Doesn't announce herself, just sneaks into town and shows up at her door, waiting for Katara to come to her.

Lin is born a little less than a year after Bumi. Toph doesn't stay long.

A year or so of traveling and Toph ends up outside of her metalbending academy once more, a swaddled baby being gently bounced in her arms. Toph doesn't waste time on nostalgia. The academy is hers, dammit. She walks straight in, nodding to the few students here late cleaning up. She pretends not to notice their questioning stares and makes her way back to her room. Toph prefers the ground, but she doesn't have a crib or anything, so she gently wraps around Lin on the bed.

Sokka's not interested in having children and Zuko could probably get away with a random, illegitimate heir, but probably shouldn't push his boundaries yet, not to mention he's not quite ready for a child. Neither of them ask her about Lin's father.

When Lin starts earthbending, Haru does ask, but she laughs so hard that he doesn't contact her again for years, not until he's married and had his own child. He sends a family portrait to all of them.

Funny, Toph always thought he'd end up with another man. He looks happy with his wife, though. She says that all in her short letter back to him. His wife sends a reply, inviting her and Lin to dinner. Yeah, Toph thinks, she likes this woman.

Toph hasn't even met Zuko's wife, although she hears from everyone that the wedding was beautiful. They met while Toph was wandering the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko's wife is pregnant. Toph puts off visiting until the babe is born.

Lin and Bumi are given to capable nursemaids so they can all go visit Zuko and his wife and their little one-day old. Her name is Izumi. Toph wonders if she could see some of Suki in Izumi if she could see. But Zuko's wife appears to really have just given birth, so Toph guesses not.

Zuko hugs her tight. He smells of smoke and ash. She feels good in his arms. Toph puts on a smile and congrats him and his wife on a most beautiful baby. Nearly no one notices until Sokka, subtle and smooth man that he is, goes "Hey!" entirely too loudly. Aang laughs as Katara shushes him because Izumi has murmured and twitched in her sleep.

Toph grins. She really did miss this. She promises to come see them all more often, or at least write more often. If she promises, she'll do it, she thinks. Katara gives her a tight embrace, and Toph pretends not to notice the tear that drops into her mass of hair.

She wonders when it was that their friendships became this tangled. Their friendships had promised to transcend lifetimes.

Lin turns two. Toph doesn't throw her a birthday party.

Katara is pregnant again. She gives birth to a little girl they call Kya. Toph visits, mostly because Katara welcomed her with open arms when she was pregnant and didn't once lecture her for disappearing from all of them, even though Toph knows she really, _really_ wanted to.

Bumi hasn't shown to be a bender yet. Toph holds Kya and announces she'll be a waterbender. Katara laughs her off, but Aang asks how she knows. Toph just knows. Aang makes her promise to come for their next child and do the same. He wants an airbending heir so bad. Toph can hear the want in his voice as deeply as she can feel the change in his pulse. Katara knows it, too.

Motherhood suits Katara far more than it suits Toph, she thinks - a good thing because from Katara's silence and the hand she places gently on Aang's shoulders, she'll try for him until they have an airbender.

It's too much for Toph. Much too soon, she leaves the South Pole. She guesses that Katara and Aang will leave for back home themselves, anyway (Katara insists on giving birth in her home and Aang could never deny her that).

She doesn't return home to Lin just yet. Lin has the metalbenders at the academy. And Zuko or even Katara and Aang would take her in for a while if need be. Toph disappears off the grid again for a while.

This time, she sends a single hawk, to Katara.

Toph wants to punch the lack of surprise off of Katara's face when she shows up eight months pregnant, another year and a half after she left. Aang's in the living room playing with Bumi and keeping an eye on Kya.

"Whoa!" he says when he sees her. "Congrats!" She doesn't need to sense him to know he's beaming. He's dripping with sincerity. Toph wants to punch that off his face as well.

Instead she thanks Aang and Katara for hosting her and helping her. Again. Suyin comes a week early. Toph's itching to leave, but she owes Katara, so she stays a bit longer and works on repairing the hurt in their friendship.

Katara confides in her that she wants another child, but isn't ready yet and doesn't know how to tell Aang. Toph and Katara have always been honest with each other, so Toph doesn't hold back now. "Just tell him," she says. "He has to understand. It's your body. It needs a break." Toph feels it in her muscles just how true this is, just how hard pregnancy is on the body.

Katara sighs. "I know," she says, head buried in her hands.

Toph pats her and tells her it will be okay.

When Aang walks in, Toph tells him to sit and that Katara has something to tell him. Then she walks out. Katara gives an angry shout at her retreating back, and she can hear Aang's concern and puzzlement as he asks what's going on.

Toph gathers up Suyin and leaves the South Pole. It's time for Suyin and Lin to meet.

When Lin is barely seven and Suyin is nearing four, Katara announces another pregnancy. Toph throws an impromptu birthday party for Suyin and promises Lin a big bash next year. The child doesn't complain, but jealousy and hurt radiate off of her. Toph tries to remember when she was that young. She wasn't always this serious. She had lots of immature fun. Toph always meant to be better than her own parents. She's not sure she's succeeded.

Katara gives birth to another boy, Tenzin. This time, Toph, Sokka, and even Zuko have made it down to see Katara and Aang and Tenzin.

Bumi loudly boasts about having a new little brother, grabbing at Tenzin a little too roughly. Kya looks at her younger sibling with wonder and respect. Toph has to laugh a little at Kya swatting Bumi's hands away.

Aang gently relieves Katara of Tenzin and passes him off onto Toph. Tenzin yawns and a snot bubble pops from his nose. "Hey, little one," Toph whispers, leaning in close to the child. Aang impatiently hops from foot to foot by her.

"Well!?" he finally asks. Toph can imagine Katara rolling her eyes, although she has no idea if Katara would or not.

"Well what?" Sokka asks, exasperated and wanting his turn to hold the "new squishy".

Toph grins at Aang. Tenzin is light and feathery in her arms. Kya was smooth and graceful. Bumi was heavy and fidgety. "Congrats, Aang. He's an airbender," she says.

She's barely finished before the "WHOO-HOO!" escapes his mouth and he shoots around the room on an air scooter, throwing papers and blankets everywhere.

Toph laughs loud and long at his antics while Katara tells him to _stop that_ and Sokka asks what the heck is going on while Zuko just tries to avoid a collision. Toph hasn't seen Aang this excited or hyper in a long time. She feels young again, feels like she hasn't been apart from these people for years and their friendship is as strong, bright, and vibrant as ever.

Katara tries to reason: "Just because Toph was right with Kya" - who had recently revealed a young talent for waterbending - "doesn't mean she'll be right with Tenzin." She's trying not to let Aang's hopes get up just in case, but Toph knows she's right. Let Aang get his hopes up.

Sokka's still wondering what is going on. Toph shuts him up by shuffling Tenzin into his arms. Sokka's immediately a gibbering fool, speaking baby talk to Tenzin who seems rather unimpressed with the display.

"Izumi never liked that," Zuko helpfully provides, as he pokes a gentle finger towards the baby to see if Tenzin will grab it. Sokka steadfastly ignores him and continues with the gibberish.

Toph throws one hand on Bumi's shoulder and the other on Kya's. Both are up on tippy-toes on their chairs, wanting more time with their new sibling. It feels like family.

She'll do better this time, Toph thinks. She really will. With all of them. Not just with Katara.

Toph really has no interest in being police chief, but Aang asks her for her help and she's promised to do better. Besides, the job should keep her anchored in Republic City, close to Katara and Aang and their brood. Keep her tied to her home with Lin and Suyin, both of whom have shown great earthbending promise. Lin has started with metalbending. Toph can never tell with that kid if she likes or is just doing it because Toph has told her too. She wonders where she got that.

Toph leaves the metalbending academy in the hands of her two top students. They promise to take good care of it.

Toph brings metalbending to the new police force. Aang didn't mention when he asked for her help that he was basically asking her to establish the force on her own. It helps. She's got near complete control of the whole task force, including their headquarters location and architecture. She makes the training program and determines the requirements for joining.

Toph makes them all learn metalbending to join.

When Aang stops by after the headquarters are built, he asks her how she's doing. For the first time, she notices how worn and aged he sounds. She wonders if he hears the same in her.

"I'm doing good," Toph tells him, honestly, because Toph is always honest with her friends. "I'm enjoying this." Then after a pause, "thank you, Aang." She resists the urge to call him Twinkletoes but just barely.

Aang lets out the breath he's been holding. She goes for a hug at the same time he does.

"How are you doing?" she asks when they pull apart.

Aang runs a hand over his smooth, bald head. "Busy. And tired. But good. Things are going well, even if they're going slow."

Toph brings Lin and Suyin to dinner with him, Katara, Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin that night. She makes it a weekly event.

She brings Lin and Suyin to play with Izumi as she visits with Zuko every two months. She makes Sokka join her and Zuko or her and Katara and Aang every two months as well. He doesn't have kids. He should be the one traveling to them, anyway. He doesn't complain.

She's doing better. She promised.

Suyin takes to metalbending like she was born for it. She likes it better than plain earthbending.

Lin's picked up quite the talent for detecting lies. Suyin is struggling with it, but Toph hears Lin coaching her sister on it at night when they should be sleeping. Suyin will pick it up, Toph is sure.

Lin's a natural on the police force.

Toph feels it. Her and Lin and Suyin are breaking apart. The cracks in their family are so big she wonders how no one else is mentioning it, not even Sokka who can't hold his tongue for anything. She just wanted to do better than her parents. How did it come down to this?

It's her own fault, Toph thinks. Her fault.

Toph should have seen it coming. Suyin gets on side of the law opposite of Toph, the side Toph is supposed to be upholding. But Toph cannot send her child to jail, even if Lin seems angry enough to considering putting Suyin in jail and leaving her there.

Toph destroys the police report. She's not doing this right. She doesn't know how to fix this. She sends Suyin to her parents. She can't bring herself to put restrictions on her children but that's what her parents are best at. Maybe they can straighten Suyin out. Maybe then Lin will be able to look at Toph again.

Toph's weary. She steps down as police chief. The position will eventually be passed to Lin, probably sooner rather than later. The girl's a natural. Toph hopes it will help her family.

It doesn't.

Suki shows up at her door in the middle of the night. "We thought you were dead!" Toph says. She's angry and hurt but doesn't put too much of that into her voice because she's done the same thing, and it's not like they really thought Suki was dead. They just felt like it, having seen the other Kyoshi Warriors but only ever hearing word of Suki. "Come in," she follows up with, without giving Suki a chance to explain.

"I didn't picture you with kids," Suki says.

"Me neither," Toph replies truthfully. "But I love it," she replies, also truthfully but hiding her hurt.

"I don't have any," Suki informs her.

"I didn't think you wanted any."

"I didn't. I don't." Suki pauses a beat and Toph waits for her to ask the question burning on her lips. "What about Sokka?"

"What about him?" Toph asks. She understands Suki, but she's still angry.

"Did he have kids?"

"Hmm," Toph says, pretending to think about it. "Nope!" she finally answers.

Suki doesn't bother to hide her sigh of relief. "What about another girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Is he with anybody?"

It stings that Suki gave her the bare minimum effort in smalltalk over their own lives rather than Sokka. But she understands, she tells herself. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Suki wrings her hands. "I've been gone for a long time."

"Nearly forever," Toph says.

"Please, Toph," Suki says. "I'm sorry. I just... I needed time to find myself. But I'm so naive, Toph. I... I made a mistake. It took me far too long to realize I didn't need to abandon you all to find myself."

Toph sniffs down her nose at Suki. "Fine," she finally gives because Suki's being honest and Toph's trying to do better - has been doing better. "No. He's never even had another serious relationship that I know of. I think he's waiting for you." Toph wants to tell her that it's more than she deserves, but she doesn't. Because Sokka and Suki have been apart too long and Toph thinks perhaps they were meant to be together. They did always have the capability of bringing out the best in each other. Toph doesn't think the worst in each other exists anymore.

"Thank you," Suki says, and she hugs Toph. Toph briefly hugs her back.

"Go to him, already," Toph commands her. "He's waiting," she reminds Suki.

Suki doesn't stay the night.

Neither does Toph.

Toph finally goes to that dinner Haru's wife invited her to. She has to push her way in past Haru, who is standing there and gaping at her. Her visit is quite unexpected, after all.

Haru's wife introduces herself and tells Toph that of course she's welcome.

Dinner is delicious.

Word reaches Toph of a metal bent city of metalbenders. Zhao Fu, a metal clan. Toph knows it's Suyin before she hears Suyin's name in conjunction with the place. It's time to do some damage control, Toph thinks, and this time with her own family rather than poor towns in the colonies and the Earth Kingdom.

Toph's let right into Zhao Fu. Seems Suyin has been expecting her.

"You've done good," Toph says, feeling as awkward as Zuko usually is.

"Thanks, mom," Suyin says quietly.

They're not ready to embrace yet, but Toph knows that will come. Suyin wants Toph in her life. She wants to forgive her. Toph wants to be worthy of that.

Lin is still angry with Toph and it's hurting the possibility of Lin and Suyin making up. As much as Toph wants to make up with both of them, she doesn't think that will happen with her in the middle.

This time when she leaves, Toph lets Suyin know.

"I've done a lot in my lifetime, Suyin," she says, "but I've never found enlightenment. Aang says it's quite nice," and her voice doesn't crack over mentioning her recently deceased friend, not at all. "I think I'd like to find it," she says. She's bone weary. She honestly could do with some enlightenment.

"Okay, mom," Suyin says. "Thanks." Thank you for letting me know. Thank you for giving me and Lin a chance. Thank you for coming and staying as long as you did.

Toph hugs Suyin, squeezes her tight. When tears start to leak from Suyin's eyes, Toph lets go so the same won't happen to her. Toph leaves without looking back, but then again, Toph can't see.

It hurts to see the new avatar. Gods, she misses Aang. She should have visited him one more time. But she'd been expecting this.

" _Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes._ "

Korra is so unlike Aang, yet Toph feels the same kind of draw to the girl. Toph easily falls back into old patterns, as if she's messing around with a young Aang once again, even if the girl is far more serious and far more ruthless.

Toph wonders if Korra can feel it as well.

When Korra thanks her and asks her for a hug, Toph thinks that maybe she does.

"All right. You earned it," Toph acquiesces.

This time it's not Toph who leaves.

This time it doesn't feel like good-bye.

Maybe it's time to return home, Toph thinks. Time to see Zuko and Katara again. Time to help put the world back in balance again. Yes, Toph thinks, perhaps it's finally time.


End file.
